A woman embraces her relative upon arrival at the Sanaa International Airport in Sanna on May 14, 2023, after being evacuated from Sudan. Hundreds of people have been killed and nearly a million displaced in the war between the army and rival paramilitaries embroiled in a power struggle 18 months after a military coup derailed Sudan's transition to civilian rule.
In Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, there have been many allegations of civilians being raped by armed men, government officials reported.
According to The Guardian, the director of a specialized section said she believed most cases of sexual abuse in the city were not being documented. The unit is helping four women and a girl, three of whom are refugees.
Suliema Ishaq, Director of the Ministry of Social Affairs' unit for combatting violence against women, stated, "I believe that the cases are way more than that, but because of what has been going on, not all the victims can reach us, and get the support needed."
Two of the ladies accused paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) members of sexually assaulting them. Three women who had fled to the city from their home nations because of violence said they were attacked sexually by men in armed uniforms.
Conflict in Sudan
Notably, Khartoum is where violence broke out in the nation a month ago.
Since April 15, when conflict erupted between the Sudanese army commanded by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti), more than 600 people, including civilians, have been killed. More than 5,000 others have been injured, as well.
When the military overthrew the transitional government set up when dictator Omar al-Bashir was ousted in October 2021, al-Burhan and Hemedti took command together.
Bare Minimum of Assistance
Only 16% of Khartoum's hospitals are operating at full capacity. Health experts say certain facilities are taken by RSF soldiers, who now govern about 90% of the city.
Ishaq added that her team could only provide "the minimum of help" as a result of the violence and shortage of medical supplies. She remarked, "There are no safe passages to places where there are medicines, these places are being occupied."
The UN has reported that Khartoum and most of Darfur have severely curtailed resources. The UN population fund, UNFPA, announced last week that there are severe shortages of supplies for the clinical care of rape and dignity kits due to inaccessible inventories.
The two sides agreed on Thursday, May 11, to protect civilians to enable the delivery of humanitarian supplies. However, on the weekend, warfare broke out again in Khartoum and in El Geneina in West Darfur. This week, the warring factions are scheduled to meet for peace negotiations.
Hemedti, leader of the Janjaweed militia during the crisis in Darfur that lasted for almost two decades, has been accused of using sexual violence against civilians as a tactic of war.
Since anti-government demonstrations started in Sudan at the end of 2018, armed groups have been accused of a string of rapes and assaults. In June 2019, medics in Khartoum reported they suspected the RSF had committed more than 70 rapes when it assaulted a nonviolent rally.
